


Innocents of Ryloth

by A_Shieldmaiden_of_Rohan, Blu3g1rl



Series: Birds of A Feather [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: A lot of ideas, Action/Adventure, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Needs A Hug, Hurt Obi-Wan Kenobi, In this house we love and respect Mace Windu, Jedi, Okay I did, Original Character(s), Other, Slow Updates, done with your crap medics, more to be added - Freeform, original cultures, the author did not take ideas from BOTW
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 19:33:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19216063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Shieldmaiden_of_Rohan/pseuds/A_Shieldmaiden_of_Rohan, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blu3g1rl/pseuds/Blu3g1rl
Summary: Obi-Wan didn't want another Padawan but was that going to stop Yoda? Not at all; enter cocky Revali Lombardi, Rito Padawan. This is her story.





	Innocents of Ryloth

“So you are Knight Charr,” a haughty voice observed and Ava’s head snapped up to see who was speaking. It was rare for her to not hear another being come into her presence, clones milling about the docking ships aside. A slight woosh and the speaker landed in front of her. Red eyes widened at the sight of the dark blue Rito, a species that was even rarer than her own. Said Rito’s beak opened and continued, “Hmph, I am Padawan learner Revali Lombardi; Master Kenobi informed me that we will be working together to retake Ryloth.” 

 

This time Ava hid her shock, she had thought Master Obi-Wan had sworn off taking another Padawan, Anakin as he claimed was more than enough for him. 

 

“I was not aware that Master Kenobi has a new Padawan,” Ava said, “But it will be a pleasure to work alongside you.”

 

“Ttch,” Revali tch’ed and lifted her head up but remained quiet. Ava got the feeling that the Padawan didn’t like her. A slightly awkward and tense atmosphere smothered them. 

 

“Ava!” Obi-Wan’s delighted voice broke the tension, “It’s good to see you again.” He smiled at her. “Especially after the mess on Plutonia. Hopefully this time no one will be captured by the locals.”

 

“Or have trouble with the planet’s representative,” she dryly added on. 

 

Obi-Wan’s smile widened a little at the remark. “And I see you’ve met my new Padawan,” he commented, ignoring said Padawan’s glare. “Revali, go tell Ghost Company to be prepared to land. You’ll be leading this mission.” 

 

Revali eyed both of them before nodding. “Of course.” Silently she stalked off. 

 

Ava watched the Rito gesture something to Cody before speaking. “What made you decide to take a new Padawan?”

 

Obi-Wan bit back a grimace. It wasn’t like he  _ wanted  _ a Padawan. Ahsoka was assigned to Anakin via his approval, pretending to not know that she was was for his own amusement. So meeting Revali was a complete surprise. “Recently,” he offered up with no more details, “Are you ready for the mission? I know it’s a last minute change...”

 

Ava shrugged. “Last minute changes are an occupational hazard.” Though it would have been nice to see Ponds and the rest of the 187th again. “But are you sure your Padawan will be alright with it? She doesn't seem to like me.”

 

This time Obi-Wan did grimace. “She doesn’t seem to like anyone.” Nothing he had tried so far seemed to endear himself towards the Avian Jedi, and the less spoken about his men the better. 

 

“Then yes, I'm ready.”

 

He clasped a hand onto her shoulder. “May the Force be with you then,” he said, “Just don’t let Revali bully you too much.”

 

_ Lovely.  _

 

000

 

“Our job is to scout ahead and survey Nabat and the capital,” Revali explained to the small group flying to the planet. “Masters Kenobi and Windu will have the hard part of taking them back. We cannot be discovered if that is to happen. Use only droid stunners and your blasters.” She glared at Boil who held a rocket launcher, “We want to leave these people a home after all.” 

 

Boil muttered something under his breath but obeyed. Revali paid him no mind as she turned to Charr, “Anything  _ you _ want to add?” It came out much ruder than she wanted it to. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Charr’s men bristle at the tone.  _ Ttch, we need to focus on the issue here, not on respect. _

 

“Keep an eye out for hostile wildlife.” Ava decided not to pay any mind to her attitude. “Ryloth is known to have some dangerous ones.”  _ Stand down,  _ she signed to her team behind her back.

 

Revali mentally scoffed, as if she would be taken out by  _ animals.  _ “We’ll split into three small teams; Charr, you take your men and head west, Commander Cody, you will take east with Ghost Company and I’ll head north.” Ava startled at that. Revali planned on going alone? The Padawan must have sensed her surprise and sharply looked at her. “ _ What _ , Knight Charr?”

 

“It might be wise to take a couple troops with you.”

 

“Ttch,” the Avian scoffed, “Perhaps if they wouldn’t slow me down then I would.” All the troopers bristled at her insult. “I will be just fine by myself, Knight Charr.” 

 

Ava debated whether or not to argue, and decided it wasn’t worth it. The Padawan  _ was  _ leading this mission, after all, and it would defeat the purpose if she overrode her decision. “Very well.” 

 

The Padawan quietly tsk’ed. Ava sighed; this was going to be a long mission. 

 

000

 

The moon had only begun to rise as the gunship landed, giving minimal light to the group. Revali stepped forward. “We’ll contact one another at o’ two hundred,” she declared as she continued to walk away from the group. “And if anyone finds anything sooner com me.” She gave a quick glance at the two other teams to make sure they understood. “It is vital for Master Kenobi and Windu to receive the information as soon as possible. Failure is not an option, understood?” She crossed her wings against her chest with a serious expression. 

 

“Sir, yes, sir!” the troopers barked out.

 

“Good. We will meet at Nabat’s tunnels by o’ four hundred. I’ve marked the entrance on the map.” The Padawan nodded once before setting out on her own. 

 

Ava walked after her. “Are you sure you’re comfortable going out on your own?” she asked when they were out of the troops’ earshot in an effort to spare the Rito’s fragile ego. 

 

Revali puffed up at her concern. “I said I will be fine, Knight Charr,” she sneered, “I am completely capable for this task, since only I can accomplish it.” 

 

“Why are you the only one who can accomplish it?” Ava challenged. Obi-Wan did tell her not to let his student bully her, and she was quickly becoming fed up with the Padawan’s snobbishness.

 

Revali made a disgusted click with her beak, “Did you even prepare for this mission?” she demanded in a haughty tone, “The northern trail leads to the canyons. It would be a complete waste of time to go around it. Unless you or the troopers suddenly can fly or materialize a jetpack to cross it.” Her body shifted into a confident pose as she smirked, inwardly hoping that the Knight believed her confidence. Revali had some doubts about her ability to get across the canyon with how strong the wind was. And getting hurt from the last campaign (not that she told anyone, Revali didn’t need to be coddled) didn’t boost her confidence. “Satisfied?”

 

_ You could have said that from the start.  _ “Quite. May the Force be with you, Padawan Lombardi.” She turned and went back to her men. 

 

Revali called out to her, “Just don’t keep me waiting at the rendezvous, Knight Charr.” She flicked her wings a little. 

 

Ava didn’t dignify that with a response.

 

000

 

Cody and his men silently trekked through the woods with remarkable speed. “I don’t like it,” Waxer muttered quietly to Boil, “Commander Lombardi should at least have someone watching her six.” It went against every instinct he had to leave the jetii alone. 

 

“She doesn’t want any of us,” Boil pointed out, still slightly miffed at the Padawan’s insult, “And who are we to argue?”

 

“But what if she gets in trouble?” Waxer countered, “We’re going in blind, for all we know we could be walking right into the clanker’s trap.” 

 

Boil rolled his eyes, “First of all, nobody knows about our mission,” he said, “And second, Commander Lombardi doesn’t want us, would serve her right to get in trouble.”

 

“Boil!” Waxer looked scandalized at his brother’s comment, his voice was loud enough to make more than one head turn to him. Waxer shrunk a little when Cody looked at him. 

 

“Quiet you two,” the Air Marshall ordered, annoyance clear in his voice. Whether he was too upset at Commander Lombardi’s dismissal or at their regard for professionalism was up for debate. 

 

Both men gave a quick salute and remained silent for a few minutes, feet making soft taps on the forest ground, until Waxer broke the silence, “We both studied the map, Boil,” he whispered, “Even if Commander Lombardi makes good time going around the canyon it’s in heavy Seppie territory. She could walk right into those clankers and get killed.” He looked down at the blaster in his hands, “It would have made more sense for a group to go.” 

 

“Once again,” Boil whispered back, now annoyed, “She didn’t want us to ‘slow her down’.” he finished with a scoff. By this point the company had made it to an abandoned village, and judging by the blaster marks and dead bodies littering the ground, it was not abandoned by choice.  

 

“What happened here?” Waxer heard Woolley question as they all took in the chaos. 

 

“Droids,” Commander Cody answered darkly as he knelt to a destroyed battle unit. “Alright men,” he stood up and turned to face them, “We’ll be moving in teams of two from here on out.” The man mentally went over the map of Ryloth. “Woolley with me, Trap stick close to Longshot. Racer and Crackshot, you two are together,” he looked at the final men, “Waxer and Boil.” 

 

Waxer straighten up, “Yes, Sir!” He saluted. 

 

“Everyone keep your guard up, who knows if there are anymore clankers around. And keep an eye out for any survivors.” Cody’s tone was sharp up until the last order, now filled with doubt. 

 

“Sir yes sir!”

 

“Come on, Waxer,” Waxer heard his brother say as he began to walk, “Let’s see if we can get to the Tunnels before Commander Lombardi.”

 

000

 

Ava led Blackstar Squad along the west side of Nabat. The clones had their night vision mode activated. Between her infrared vision and Force sense, Ava could see just fine. 

 

“What’s the deal with Commander Lombardi anyway?” Torch muttered as they walked. “I’ve never met a Jedi so full of themselves before.”

 

“Don’t you remember?” Patch scoffed. “Apparently, we’re too inferior to keep up with her.” He’d seen the map of the terrain around the canyon; it didn’t look any worse than the harsh Commando training courses the Kaminoans put them through.

 

“The trail north goes around a long canyon,” Ava interjected. “Padawan Lombardi planned to save time by flying across it. It’s too far to Force jump, and none of us brought jetpacks. She probably figured that our group and Ghost Company would be able to handle the west and east on our own.”

 

“So why didn’t she just say that in the first place, sir?” Cas asked.

 

Ava had no response for that question. The Rito didn’t strike her as much as heartless but more sure of herself. It half reminded her of her best friend in his tactless moments. “It’s possible she was simply impatient to be on her way, and didn’t consider how she would come across,” the Chiss thought out loud and got a general sense of disbelief. Ava shook her head, “I didn’t make a good first impression on you, either,” she reminded them, her lips twitching up, “Or second. But I learned to be more… expressive, and we started to gel as a team. Everybody deserves a second chance.”

 

She was about to say more when she felt concern from her pilot, Nate. “Is something wrong, Nate?” 

 

“Maybe, sir,” he said. “How long is Commander Lombardi’s wingspan?”

 

Ava thought about it for a moment; the Padawan was roughly around her height. “About six feet, give or take a few inches,” she said. “Why?”

 

Her answer nearly made the clone choke as his concern turned into worry as he went over the calculations in his head. “The winds over the canyon can get up to forty miles per hour, sir. Assuming her wing bones have pockets of air like a typical avian’s, that’s enough force per square inch of wing to break them.”

 

Her entire squad stopped their march and looked at the pilot in horror, “What!?” Patch squawked out as visions of the cocky Padawan falling to her death played in his mind.

 

“Do you think she’s at the canyon by now?” Prowl chimed in.

 

Ava activated her comlink. “Only one way to find out,” she said, cursing herself for not thinking about wind conditions before letting the Padawan go off on her own. “Padawan Lombardi, do you copy?” She barked into her comm. Nothing. “Padawan Lombardi, this is Knight Charr, respond.”

 

“...”

 

Fear filled Ava as she stared at her wrist waiting for a response. Her comm remained mockingly silent. “Revali Lombardi, this is an order, respond,  _ now _ .”

 

“...Sir?” Cas bravely spoke up, his voice unsure.

 

Ava changed frequencies. “Commander Cody, this is Commander Charr. Respond.”

 

To her relief, the marshall commander answered immediately. “I read you, sir. What’s the situation?”

 

“I need to know if you’ve heard from Padawan Lombardi,” Ava demanded and quickly filled him in on the danger.

 

On the other side Cody’s eyes widened at that and he cursed so violently that Woolley nearly tripped. Absently he made a sign to keep moving. “No sir,” he answered her, his voice calm, “I haven’t heard from her at all. Do you want me to contact her?”

 

“Yes. I’ve been trying but so far she hasn’t responded; we need to rule out any malfunction on my end.”

 

“Yes, sir.” Cody looked up to his brother. “Contact Commander Lombardi,  _ now _ .” His voice held no room for any arguments the still disgruntled clone had. 

 

“Commander Lombardi, this is Woolley, respond.” His brother spoke into his comm. 

 

Cody’s heart dropped as it remained silent. How could he return to his General if something happened to his student? 

 

“Sir...?” Woolley asked, unsure of what was going on. 

 

“Keep the line open, the commander might be in trouble,” Cody answered the question as he switched frequencies to his company. “This is Commander Cody, keep an eye out for Commander Lombardi and report immediately if she’s spotted.” Cody didn’t bother to listen for the confirmations as he switched back to Charr. “Sir, no response.”

 

There was a moment of silence before, “Cas will take six of the squad to continue the scouting mission as planned. I’m taking the others to the canyon. Send at least two Ghost Company members to look from your side. I leave who to your discretion.”  She was pretty sure she knew who Cody would pick, but she wasn’t familiar with the entire team’s capabilities.

 

“Of course sir,” Cody agreed. He tapped his comm, “Waxer, Boil, I got a new job for you...”

 

000

 

_ “Assigned a Master to you, I have.” Yoda informed a stoic looking Revali.  _

 

_ “I don’t need a Master,” the Rito couldn’t help but burst out, her feathers puffed up to intimidate the tiny GrandMaster. “I am fine.” _

 

_ “Angered you are by the loss of your Master, I understand,” Yoda reminded her, not at all bothered by her anger. “But a Master you need to be Knighted, guidance your new Master can give you.” _

 

_ “Guidance I do not need nor want, Master Yoda,” Revali nearly snarled out. “It was made clear that it is pointless, they all  _ leave _ , Master Trine just took longer.” She glared at the floor at the painful reminder of her losses.  _

 

_ Yoda merely waited until the Padawan looked back up, more composed but still with cold eyes. “Go you will or become a Jedi you will not.” He told her with no compromise. The young woman had much promise to become a great Jedi when she learned to let  _ go _ of her past. Yoda would admit, if only to himself that he played favorites and Revali Lombardi had become one of the few. He would have taken her as a student but the Force has decreed that she was destined for another. He could not heal her wounds and allow her to shine brightly if he did so. And he wanted the Rito to become the best like so many were.  _

 

_ Revali shook with anger at his answer, “Fine!” She spat, “I will go, if only to be Knighted,” and to prove  _ that man _ wrong. “Who am I forced to be with?” _

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi was not a bad man, Revali mused as she made her way through the dense trees. Even if he was as unprepared to receive her, Revali could still see the human’s surprise at her arrival.  _ Meddling troll _ , she thought,  _ You knew full well that Kenobi didn’t want me.  _ The Force must have some sense of humor since it was clear that Master Kenobi didn’t even want a student, much less one as troublesome and foul-mouthed as Revali. 

 

Not that she cared at all of Kenobi’s opinion, or anyone else’s for that matter. Master Rodimus Trine was the exception not the expectation. Revali stopped her pace and stared at the canyon before her; it was a lot bigger than she expected, at least two star destroyers wide. Her left wing twinged in pain at the idea of flying across such a distance. And with such strong winds, she thought as a blasting gust hit her hard enough to push her back. 

 

The Rito glared spitefully, it seemed that everything was going against her. With a deep breath Revali made a running jump before her spreading her powerful wings. With a lifetime of practice flight came to her with ease. And thankfully this time the gust blew in the direction of her travel, aiding her. Her wing shouting in protest as she reached the halfway mark and to Revali’s horror she started falling. 

 

And to make things worse, Charr’s voice broke through, “Padawan Lombardi, this is Knight Charr,” the Chiss’s voice barely crackled above the wind as she fell downwards.  _ No kriff _ , Revali thought hysterically. “Do you copy?” 

 

“For kriff’s sake!” She groaned as she spread her wings out further, trying to get lift from the wind, “I’m a little busy!” The one downfall of her people, the inability to gain height in mid air. 

 

“Padawan Lombardi, this is Knight Charr, respond.” Revali didn’t even bother to roll her eyes, gaining air was more important. “Revali Lombardi. Respond now!” Charr’s voice barked at her as the ground looked close. 

 

“Come on, come on...” Revali prayed quietly for the wind to respond. Her wing screamed as she flapped it as hard as she could. The wind howl and Revali shut her blue eyes. The wind’s roar died down and the feeling of falling faded, sky blue eyes snapped open in shock. No longer was she plummeting down to her death on some worthless planet. No longer was she on some worthless planet but in a vast space of blue sky. “What the hell...?” she asked nobody. She looked down to realize that she was standing in shallow water, the reflection making the illusion of pure sky. A deafening roar from behind her made her spin around and her eyes widened. 

 

Blue eyes opened and Revali remembered where she was. Determination filled her and with a powerful push her wings created a blast of air that lifted her high up. The blast was strong enough to get straight to the other side in seconds. Once her talons touched the earth she fell gracelessly in a heap of blue and beige. She glanced down to where her comm was supposed to be attached to and a huff of tired amusement escaped her. Well, it wasn’t as if she wanted to respond to the slightly annoying Knight. She couldn’t even feel upset when she realized that whatever she had done to fly made her lose her saber as well. She clicked her tongue as she struggled to stand up; she still had a job to do.

 

000

 

Ava’s lungs protested as she forced herself to run faster to the canyon. Sheer desperation edging on panic fueled her. Clouds left her in near total darkness, a fitting depiction of her spiraling thoughts. _I shouldn’t have let her go alone,_ rang resolutely in her mind with a painful echo _. Why didn’t I think about the wind conditions? I’m a kriffing idiot. How am I going to tell Master Obi-Wan that his Padawan is dead. He’ll never forgive me._ I’ll _never forgive me._ Another child’s blood was on her hands.

 

Running through a forest, Ava tripped over a root. Pain shot through her as the wood was sharp enough to cut skin. Warm blood trickled into the dark ground and Ava nearly screamed in frustration. 

 

_ A Jedi is always mindful of their surroundings,  _ Master Windu’s voice reminded her.  _ The moment you lose focus on the present is the moment you lose yourself.  _ Ava took a deep breath to calm her nerves. It didn’t work as well as she hoped, but it was enough for her to think things through. Revali must have been aware of the danger she chose. 

 

_ Did you even prepare for this mission?  _ The arrogant Padawan had asked. Yes, but she hadn’t even taken the wind over the canyon into consideration, because it hadn’t seemed relevant at the time. They would have gone around, after all. 

 

_ Only I can accomplish this,  _ Revali had stated, so sure of herself. The girl knew beforehand of her job so she must have taken the winds into account. Perhaps... a small flicker of hope lit inside the Chiss, perhaps Nate’s concerns were unneeded and Lombardi was completely capable to cross safely. 

 

_ And I believed Naren wasn’t capable of killing those children _ , Ava grimly reminded herself. It was better to expect the worst, and be proven right. 

 

“Sir!” Patch shouted as he ran up next to her and instantly eyed her hands. “Just some cuts,” he breathed out in relief. With the panic of Commander Revali his mind was running in overdrive and thinking the worst. He nearly had a heart attack when his own Commander fell. “Just give me a klick and I–”

 

“That is not necessary, Patch,” Ava snapped. Her mood even worse as she thought of her brother. “Let’s just keep moving. We’re not far from the canyon now.”

 

Patch made a move to protest but Nate’s gloved hand stopped him. He shook his head; there was no point in fighting his bull-head Commander. “...Alright, but after this is all through I’m giving you a full body check up, Sir.” 

 

Ava ignored him as she closed her eyes, using memory to calculate how far they were from the Padawan. “It’s another half mile. Come on.” She didn’t wait for a response. 

 

The stars were dancing happily bright in the inky black sky when they reached the rim of the canyon. Cold air hit her face as she scanned for the Rito. No life-forms that she could see, hear, or sense. She tried not to let that get to her, after all, Lombardi snuck up on her before. 

 

“Sir!” Prowl‘s voice carried over the wind as he stared down in horror. With a shaky hand he reached down and picked up the glinting lightsaber that he had seen clipped to the Commander’s side. 

 

“Is that…” Spice trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud. Saying it would make it true. 

 

“It is,” Ava’s grim voice confirmed, her heart breaking at the sight of the saber. Jedi would rather  _ die _ than leave their blades behind. Regret coursed through her veins. She shouldn’t have let her go alone. 

 

Nate tried to tune his group out as he scanned the ridges with his binoculars for a large blue bird. A small green light caught his attention and he focused in on it. His body shook as he realized that it was the girl’s comlink with some feathers sticking out of it. They must have gotten caught as she fell, his mind answered him in a dark voice. 

 

From how far away it was Commander Lombardi must have made it halfway before the wind was too strong.  _ Her wings must have given out at that point _ , he thought as he tried to imagine the commander in flight.  _ She didn’t stand a chance once she lost height, these gusts would have thrown her around like a rag doll.  _

 

It looked like Commander Lombardi wouldn’t live to get that second chance after all, Spice reflected glumly, instantly regretting every negative thing he had thought and said about her. What kid didn’t say stupid things when they wanted to show off? He did plenty of that in training. 

 

“Now what?” Prowl asked to a blank faced Ava.

 

Ava hit her comm. “Cody, this is Commander Charr, call off the search... Revali Lombardi is one with the Force.” 

 

000

 

Revali panted as she rested against a tree trunk, her wing almost numb in pain. Briefly she closed her eyes as she tried to remember what she saw. Flashes of sky and  _ something  _ gold flickered before her eyes and she opened them again. If that was a vision she wanted nothing to with it or ever have one again. Revali lived in the moment, not some dream future. She shook her head, disgusted with herself; she should be focused on the mission, not lazing in a tree! 

 

A shuffle broke her out of her thoughts and Revali tensed. Battle droids? Of all the time to lose her saber...

 

Blue eyes stared straight into light brown and the Rito relaxed as she studied the Ryloth native.  _ A child, _ she thought revealing nothing on her face,  _ Why is it so far away from civilization? _ The child’s eye widened at her and began babbling in her tongue to her. 

 

Exhausted, in pain, and more than a little annoyed Revali snapped at her, “If you can’t speak basic then don’t speak at all. You’re giving me a migraine.” As soon as those left her she winced, Master Rodimus would have had her feathers for her behavior. The girl fell silent, not understanding her words but the angry tone and the Rito sighed. “Apologies, but I don’t know what you’re saying.” At the clueless look upon the child’s face Revali’s eye twitched. “What. Do. You. Want?” she slowly enunciated each word. 

 

The girl remained silent and Revali nearly threw her arms up in frustration. “This is getting me nowhere,” she groaned and walked over to the girl. Revali towered over the child in almost a comical way. “Revali,” she pointed at herself and gritted out the next word, embarrassed that she needed to act like this, “Help.”

 

“Rahalee,” the girl chirped out her name, completely butchering her name. 

 

“Close enough,” Revali groused out, deciding to pick her battles. “Now what the kark do you want?”

 

“Halpe,” the girl and Revali mentally dubbed her Mirror as she mimicked her stance, repeated. “Rahalee, halpe,” 

 

“Yes, so what do you want?”

 

“Rahalee, halpe,” Mirror repeated before speaking fast in what Revali could only deduce as Ryl. “Rahalee, halpe!” 

 

At a loss, Revali merely stared at her, “I know, I know,” she groaned and regretted talking to Mirror. “But help with what?” 

 

Mirror, realizing that her speaking would get her nowhere merely stopped talking and took off deep within the forest. 

 

“Hey, wait!” Revali called out to her and without hesitation chased after her, “Kid, wait!”

000

 

“Waxer, I said wait up!” Boil ran after his brother. Once Waxer heard about their new commander’s status he had all but abandoned his original mission and headed off to go save her. “Waxer, stop!”

 

Waxer stopped and whirled around, simultaneously pulling his helmet off and glared at him. “What?” 

 

Boil could count on one hand the times he had seen his batchmate truly angry and even less when Waxer was pissed at him. His next words were spoken carefully, “You heard Cody, we need to focus on getting to the Tunnels.” 

 

“What we need to do is find Commander Lombardi!” Waxer countered, “Our job is to be with the Jedi! We were created to keep them safe!”

 

“We can’t always do that. Commander Lombardi is dead, Waxer,” Boil said quietly. “We can look for her body after we complete the mission.” He was upset about the kid’s death too, but Waxer was losing focus on the bigger picture.

 

“Commander Lombardi isn’t dead,” Waxer nearly shouted, “There’s no way she could die.” 

 

“And how do you know that?” Boil challenged. “Jetti aren’t invincible.” Stars knew General Windu and Commander Charr had had plenty of close calls when they were with the 187th. But they paled in comparison with General Kenobi’s borderline suicidal risk-taking. “Why do you even care so much?” Because even with his brother’s friendly nature it was ridiculous that he could have grown attached to the arrogant Padawan so quickly.

 

“You don’t remember?” Waxer asked and his anger deflated, “We were supposed to be assigned to the 610th.” Waxer remembered that day very well, could still recall how the Kamino lights made General Trine’s red hair look like the sun and her sad smile as she silently shook her head at him. 

 

“...No,” Boil reluctantly admitted. “But what does it matter? We did fine with the 187th.”

 

_ We met Commander Lombardi before, _ Waxer wanted to say but remained quiet,  _ She was different back then. She was happy. _ “Commander Lombardi was in charge of the 610th, we were supposed to be with her.” 

 

“I... I didn’t know that.” Now Waxer’s behavior made more sense. For a moment, he wondered what it would have been like working with her. If her attitude when they arrived on Ryloth was any indication, they wouldn’t have gotten along very well. “But we have to focus on the mission,” Boil firmly reminded him, deciding on pondering on the new fact later. “It’s what she would have wanted.”

 

Waxer looked down at the ground, defeated. He knew that, but he had wanted to find his would-be commander. “You’re right, vod.”

 

Not liking that tone or his posture, Boil tried comforting him, “General Kenobi will let us look for a body after this, if we make it through.” Waxer half-heartedly glared at him but nodded. 

 

_ Snap _

 

Both men whirled around, blasters pointing to the noise, tense and ready to kill. “...It’s just a little girl...” Waxer faltered and his blaster dipped towards the ground. 

  
  


“What’s a kid doing all by herself out here?” Boil asked, just as confused, but still pointed his blaster at her. 

 

“I don’t know,” Waxer answered him and kneeled down to the girl, “Let’s find out. Hello little one,” he smiled at her, trying to put her at ease, “What are you doing out here all by yourself?”

 

The girl stared at him blankly, not understanding him. “Rehalee, halpe,” she chirped at him. 

 

“...What?” Boil blankly stated, even more confused. 

 

“Rehalee, halpe,” the girl repeated. 

 

Both men shared a look. “Rehalee?” Waxer repeated slowly, “Maybe she’s asking us to help this Rehalee?” Boil shrugged. Waxer shook his head and looked back at the little girl, “Who’s Rehalee? Does he need help?”

 

“Rehalee, halpe!” The girl smiled, recognizing the words, “Rehalee halpe!” 

 

The sound of footsteps made all three look behind the child and the troopers’ eyes widened. “Sith’s tits, kid,” a slightly worn looking Revali said, “You cannot just run off, you might get in trou-” the Padawan blinked as she registered the two clones from her company. 

 

“Commander Lombardi!” Waxer yelped and scrambled to his feet, “We heard that you...” he trailed off, not wanting to say it. 

 

“Commander Cody told us you were dead,” Boil informed her bluntly.

 

“Commander Cody should get his head checked then,” Revali sharply retorted, “For I am clearly alive.” She studied them for a moment, “You two are nowhere near the Eastern trail, why?” 

 

“Uh...” Boil stuttered, not expecting the commander’s response. 

 

Waxer spoke up, “We were ordered to find you, sir,” he stared at her as he tried to spot any injuries. “Commander Charr was under the impression that you were in danger.”

 

That made her roll her eyes. “The only danger I would be in is boredom. Now let’s get to the rendezvous.” 

 

“Yes sir!” Both men saluted and Waxer dared to ask a question, “Should I contact the others? To let them know about you?” 

 

Personally, Revali couldn’t care less whether or not the others knew she was alive or not. They needed to find out the enemy’s weakness and report back to Master Kenobi. “Do whatever you wish, trooper,” she said with a wave of her wing, “But let’s move.”

 

“Right,” Waxer hit his comm, “This is Waxer, we’ve found Commander Lombardi, over.” He frowned as static answered him. “Damnit, our comms are jammed.” He cursed, “The clankers must know about us!” 

 

“Then we need to get to the tunnels and warn the others,” Revali commented before walking over to the little girl. Without hesitation she picked her up and placed her on her back. “Before anything bad happens.”

 

000

 

Waxer couldn’t help himself as he kept glancing to his Commander. He felt as if one look away and the Padawan would disappear forever. The girl looked focused as she lead them, eyes scanning for anything remotely robotic. The little girl gripped her fingers tightly in her feathers, her body curled closely to her. 

 

“We’re just about there,” Revali commented, slowing down. She turned around to face the clones, “Keep an eye on her,” she ordered the two as she placed Mirror down. “I’ll fly up and see what exactly is going on.”

 

Awkward silence descended over the trio before Boil fished out a ration bar. “She’s probably hungry,” he grunted at Waxer’s questioning look. He unwrapped it and held it out to her. The little Twi’lek snatched it from his hands and sniffed it suspiciously. Upon discovering that it was edible, she devoured it in seconds.

 

Waxer’s lips twitched up. Boil might be generally be a bit of a grouch, but he did have a soft side. Mostly around kids. “Think she’s got any family left?” he mused, glad for once that she didn’t understand Basic. 

 

Boil shook his head. “They’re probably dead,” he replied, remembering the demolished buildings and corpses around the village. Absently, he patted the little girl’s head. “Ouch!” Boil shouted and yanked back his hand. “Little tail-head bit me!”

 

Waxer, being the only adult, shook his head. “Stop, you're scaring her.” He walked up to the girl and took his helmet off. “She probably thinks we're droids.” He turned to the Twi’lek. “It's all right. See, I'm flesh and blood, just like you,” he said to her, but it looked like the girl didn’t understand him.

 

The girl suddenly burst into tears, the death and destruction of the day finally catching up. Fat tears rolled down her face as she continued to cry, startling the men. Not sure if he was about to get bit again, Boil knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder and she flung herself at him; hugging him tightly as tears turned into sniffles. He stroked her head tails as he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. “Don’t cry, kid,” he said gruffly. “We’ll keep you safe, I promise.” 

 

A slight woosh and Revali reappeared, a barely concealed fury on her face. “Sir?” Waxer asked, even more hesitant. Unlike her normal sour demeanor, this was pure rage. 

 

“They’re using live shields,” Revali answered him, her voice tight, “The droids have forced the Twi’lek survivors to surround the cannons.” Her posture, stiff, feathers shaking slightly. 

 

And just when he thought the Seppies couldn’t get any more despicable. “What’s the plan, sir?” Boil inquired, still holding the kid.

 

“Attack,” was her quick answer. “We cannot afford to wait for either groups to arrive or for Master Kenobi to attack. We will take the Separatists out.” 

 

“All due respect, sir, there’s only three of us,” Waxer bravely pointed out. As much as he wanted to rescue the Tailheads, it was suicide with the three of them. 

 

“And with all due respect, you should have your eyes checked,” retorted Revali, “There are four of us.” She pointedly looked at Mirror. “Mirror here is our big gun.” 

 

Boil and Waxer looked at each other.  _ Mirror? _ “She can’t even understand us,” Boil reminded her. “How is she going to help?”

 

“But she can understand her kin,” Revali said smugly, “And there’s roughly thirty Twi’leks there. I can cause a distraction from the air while you two disable the cannons and Mirror can free her people.” she tilted her head at her and Mirror blinked at her. “Halpe Rehalee.” 

 

000

 

Ava met with the others half of her team and Ghost Company at the tunnels. Immediately Ava noticed the two who were missing. “Have you heard from Waxer and Boil?” she asked Cody. 

 

Cody, already depressed by the loss of his new Commander shook his head, sadly, believing he lost two of his brothers as well. “No, I haven’t sir.” 

 

Ava’s heart dropped but she pretended to not let it affect her. “I see, Commander.” Then she was indirectly responsible for their deaths as well. “Regardless, we still have a mission to complete. We will head to Nabat from these tunnels and scope out the area.” 

 

“Yes, sir.” Cody nodded as he adjusted his grip on his blaster and activated his head light. 

 

000

 

“Sir,” Cody began slowly and quietly as they filed through the tunnels, not wanting the others to really hear this conversation. “Wouldn’t it be better to split back into three groups? We’ll have less of a chance to be discovered.” 

 

_ Going our own ways is what got Revali and the others killed, Commander _ , Ava thought darkly but remained quiet for a moment. “I understand your concern, Commander, but—”

 

Footsteps reached her ears. Too fast for droids or the natives. Some kind of animal. And through the Force, she felt a ravenous, all-consuming hunger.  _ Well, kriff.  _ “Something’s coming.” 

 

Ten gutkurrs barreled around the corner. Running on two legs with round brown bodies, they resembled giant fleas. Blaster bolts bounced ineffectively off their leathery hides. 

 

“Aim for their eyes!” Cas shouted, pegging one that had sunk its teeth into Longshot’s leg and shook him like a rag doll. Growling, the beast dropped him and charged the Captain instead. 

 

Ava jumped over a charging gutkurr. Unable to slow its momentum in time, the creature crashed headfirst into a wall. Ava glanced back. Patch was trying to pull an injured Ghost Company clone back behind the others while Spice and Bluestreak laid down cover fire. Torch threw a flash grenade at another; he couldn’t risk anything more powerful for fear of collapsing the tunnel. The gutkurr shook its head and stumbled back, disoriented. Another pounced on Jinx. Prowl ran forward and shoulder rammed it, knocking it to the ground. 

 

This needed to stop. Ava closed her eyes and focused for a moment, then used the Force to push the creatures back behind it. “Everybody hit the deck!” she barked. Ava’s team dropped down immediately, knowing what she had planned. Once everybody was on the ground, Ava threw her saber. Cody heard a hum as it passed over his head and watched the spinning purple blades cut down the gutkurrs, then return to Ava’s hand. 

 

Ava deactivated her weapon and knelt down next to Patch. “Can he be moved?” 

 

“I’d rather not, sir,” Patch said, “But it doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice.” He pulled out a stretcher and maneuvered Longshot onto it, injecting an anaesthetic into his neck. 

 

“Unfortunately, no, we don’t.” Ava waited until Patch and Jinx had maneuvered Longshot onto a stretcher, then waved everyone on.

 

A rumble shocked them and rained dirt and stones onto their heads. “Double time it!” Ava ordered and brought up the rear, watching for any signs of collapse.

 

“What could have made that happen?” Cody heard Nate ask as they ran.

 

“I don’t know!” Prowl responded as more dirt fell onto them. Then they heard it, the sound of blasters and screaming. 

 

_ Well, we can forget about not being discovered,  _ Cas thought grimly. What could possibly be going on up there? Were the droids attacking the natives? What purpose did it serve? How many were even left? But not even the wildest scenarios that played through his mind were close to the truth.

  
  


000

 

“This is insane!” Boil whispered as he, Waxer and the newly dubbed Mirror silently crept to the city. “The three, I mean four of us taking down an army!?”

 

Waxer shrugged his shoulders, half in agreement and half curious to see if they could do it. He had heard rumors of General Yoda and four brothers taking down an army by themselves. Oh course it was merely rumors, but every rumor had some truth to it. “All we can do is hope for the best, and that Commander Lombardi’s distraction works.” He absently triple check his supplies as the got closer. Commander Lombardi had taken most of the droid poppers to drop on top of the clankers, but they still had a few left.

 

Soon enough they found the scene that had enraged the cocky Padawan. Half starved and beaten Twi’leks were forced onto their knees by the droids near three large cannons. There were roughly thirty by Waxer’s count and each and every one of them looked defeated. Both men gripped their blasters and silently snarled at the sight while Mirror clung to Boil’s hand and whimpered. 

 

“Wait for the Commander’s signal,” Waxer said to remind both of them to not pull a 501st and charge stupidly into battle. 

 

Suddenly Boil understood her rude comment of not keeping up with her as Commander Lombardi swooped down and released three the poppers into the camp, creating havoc. The girl was the wind personified. With thoughtless grace she landed on one of her knees in the center of the stronghold before using the Force to push a few droidekas away and into a wall hard enough to crush them before darting off and jumping high into the air to dodge blaster bolts. 

 

Boil had to admire her skill for a moment more before his training kicked into action and he gestured to Waxer and Mirror, “Now’s our chance!” He began running to the cannons that were trying to shoot down his Commander who dodged them with laughable ease. “Com’on!” The ground rumbled from the cannons but the two made it with minimal enemy contact to the cannons while Mirror dashed to her people and began making gestures with her hands as she spoke. 

 

“Wha-?” A droid manning a cannon began to say but Waxer shot it before the word was finished. 

 

“Shut it!” Waxer barked as Boil took his spot; thankfully a shell was loaded already into it. “Aim for the other one, vod!” He shouted above the bolts as he shot a nearby tincan. 

 

“Got it!” And with a whoop the other cannon blew up, creating an earthquake. 

 

“Rehalee!” Mirror shouted as she watched the young woman twirl mid-air and throw another popper, this time disabling a tank. A woosh and Revali landed in front of her. “Rehalee, halpe!” She gestured to a nearby Twi’lek, a dark blue male. 

 

“With pleasure,” the Padawan grinned as she raised a wing to the handcuffs and used the Force to break them. While it would have been much easier with her saber, this worked as well. In the mid of the confusion the Avian Jedi freed nearby natives who cheered as they rubbed their wrists. Her moment of victory was ruined by laughter and her eyes widened at the sight of a tank’s barrel pointed at her and Mirror. Her body reacted on its own, moving a wing around Mirror and curling around the girl to protect her. 

 

“You lose, Jedi!” The emotionless sounding droid bragged and laughed at her. “Hahaha hahaha hahaha!”

 

Revali’s body tensed as a roar filled her ears. She  _ refused _ to  _ lose _ . In one swift motion she swung Mirror onto her back and flapped her wings hard, the roar drowning out any thought and  _ pushed _ . Wind circled around her, lifting her high into the sky as the push created a blast of wind, shaking and rocking the tank. Cutting off the of the laughter as the wind grew stronger and stronger before it dragged him out of his seat and skyhigh to plummet to his death. Sparks flew from the droid’s body as it twitched from the crater it created and both girls gently floated back down to the ground. Mirror’s arms held a deathgrip around her neck and the roar faded from Revali’s head. Like waking up from a dream, Revali could merely stare in shock at the defeated enemy. 

 

Cheers from the Twi’leks broke the silence and the two clones raced to their commander.“Sir!” Waxer grinned from inside his helmet, “We did it!” 

 

Revali mentally shook her confusion away and regained her composure as she turned to her men. “Of course we did,” she forced out in a scoff, trying not to show how shaken she really felt, “I was the one who created the plan to defeat the droids.” Despite how it came out curtly it lacked any bite she normally had. She placed her hand onto Mirror’s head and tilted her head down, and the troopers got the feeling that she was smiling, “Good job, you saved the day,” she praised the girl before raising her head back to the men, “Of course, it couldn’t have been done without competent troopers such as yourselves as well.” 

 

That made Boil smile, perhaps Commander Lombardi wasn’t so bad after all. “Yes, sir!” He saluted, proudly. 

 

Heads snapped towards the tunnels as the sound of running drew everyone’s attention. Still filled with adrenaline they prepare for a second round only to relax at the sight of Blackstar Squad and the rest of Ghost Company. Ava came out behind them and stared in shock at the sight of a dust-covered and battle worn but alive Revali Lombardi. “Knight Charr,” Revali greeted in a haughty tone and a raised head, haughty to the others but Waxer and Boil could pick up the commander’s smugness at her victory, “I thought I told you to not keep me waiting. The battle is over already.” Mirror beamed at the group as she waved from her spot on Revali’s back. 

 

Relief filled Ava at the sight of Waxer and Boil, but she was not expecting the sight of the Padawan whom she had failed. She blinked back tears as she registered the arrogant words and tried to release her emotions into the Force. She only half succeeded. Wordlessly she walked up and handed Revali her lightsaber, who tucked it onto her belt. “We should contact Master Windu and Kenobi and tell them what we found,” she suggested once she trusted her voice would come out steady.

 

“Ttch, of course,” Revali agreed and resisted the urge to fall, whatever she had done it had taken her everything -was it even possible for her feathers to hurt?- “Commander Cody, contact Master Kenobi and inform him that he is not needed to take back Nabat.” 

 

_ But how?  _ Nate wondered, going over his calculations again. No, he hadn’t made any errors. How had she gotten past the winds?

 

“Nate, how fast did you say those winds were, again?” Patch asked in a faux-light voice. Nate shivered at the tone, having heard it many times as his brother was revving up to the mother of all rants. Clearly, he didn’t believe it as well. 

 

“F-forty miles per hour,” he weakly answered, glad that his brother’s wrath was not directed at him this time. 

 

“Uh-huh,” Patch dryly agreed before speaking louder, “Commander Lombardi,” he said making the girl cock her head to him, “I respectfully request to do a quick check-up on you.”

 

Revali looked unimpressed at the blatant command, “And I respectfully will have to say no; go bother someone else.” She pointedly looked to the Twi’leks. “I am completely alright.” She stubbornly ignored the small black spots that started invading her vision. 

 

Patch gritted his teeth together. “Allow me to rephrase,” he began slowly, and Nate tried to creep away from him, “As the team medic, when it comes to the health of said team, I outrank everyone. Now sit down before you fall down,  _ sir _ .”

 

For a long moment both beings glared at each other as everyone watched warily. Revali scoffed loudly, making a few jump, “I will  _ not _ fall down,  _ medic _ .” The scorn clear in her voice and Mirror’s arms tightened, trying to comfort her hero. She glared at the person, while not understand what they were saying she could understand her hero’s agitation. “And as team leader I order you to leave me the kark alone and look at the villagers.” She glared at everyone, “If I am needed for something actually  _ important _ you can find me near the city’s wall.” Having said her piece her made her aching wings flap as she used the last bit of the Force she had to jump high and flew off to the walls with Mirror. 

 

“Oh, no you don’t,” Patch growled and stalked off after her. 

 

000

 

“Exactly what part of ‘leave me the kark alone’ didn’t you understand?” Revali snapped, her feathers puffed up as she glared at him from where she sat. Next to her, Mirror mirrored her actions as she leaned against the girl’s body for warmth. 

 

“What part of ‘I outrank you’ did you miss?” Patch retorted angrily. “You shouldn’t be alive right now, those winds were strong enough to tear an x-wing apart.”

 

“Clearly I’m a superior species, medic.” Revali spat, clearly agitated, “I’m fine, just tired. Take care of the natives, they obviously need more help then me.” 

 

“Oh, I’ll take care of them, alright. Right after I give  _ you  _ a full physical.” 

 

Revali rolled her eyes. “No way in hell. I haven’t had one in years. Why should I start for you?” She nearly shivered as she remembered her last one, how the person she was suppose to trust turned out to be a slaver and wanted her for how rare she was. If Master Trine hadn’t sensed something wrong then Revali knew without a doubt she would be dead. 

 

Patch nearly choked at the answer,  _ years _ ? “Then you have a lot to make up for,” he answered, his anger fading, turning into concern as he started to notice how defensive the girl got. This didn’t seem like wounded pride like he had originally thought. The girl seemed arrogant enough to have her ego hurt at the idea of being really hurt, but the more he pushed the more scared she seemed. “Commander?” He asked, voice soft, trying not to spook her further. Her first attempt to get away was proof that if he kept pushing she would take off again. 

 

“What?” Revali snarled, her shoulders raised.

 

“If I promise to just scan for any injuries then would you let me?” He asked and raised his hands to show that he had nothing in them, “No full physical, just a quick look. If you’re right, I’ll leave and help the natives with no more pushing. But,” he added on quickly, “If you are hurt then no fighting me.” 

 

There was a lull as Revali mulled it over. She winced slightly as Mirror laid her head onto her hurt wing. “...Alright,” she finally agreed with obvious reluctance, “But make it fast.”

 

“Of course.” Patch pulled out his scanner. A green light swept over the Rito. Patch’s eyes widened at the results and nearly cursed. Nearly, but he didn’t want to scare off the skittish Padawan and have her hurt herself even more from trying to get away from him. Slowly he lowered his scanner and tried to phrase his next words carefully, “Sir, your left wing is fractured in two places, and you have a bruised rib... and it looks like you hit your head at some point.” he trailed off and stared at her in disbelief. “How did you make it to the village without collapsing?”

 

“I’ll admit that it was difficult,” Revali agreed and looked pained that she had to admit her weakness, “But I was able to channel my... I was able to channel it into the Force to keep moving.” She smirked, “And it was a good thing as well, otherwise Nabat would still be under Separatist occupation.” 

 

“Sir, with your injuries, you’re lucky if there’ll be no lasting damage,” Patch said with worry as he grabbed his com. “Commander Cody, this is Patch, I’m requesting an immediate medevac for Commander Lombardi.”

 

“Copy that,” Cody replied. “How bad is it?”

 

“It’s completely unnecessary,” Revali protested over Patch’s response, “Commander Cody, cancel that now. I am functional.”

 

“If you ever want to fly again, it is absolutely necessary,” Patch countered and ignored her glare. “Commander Cody, send for backup now.” He tried to reason with her, “You agreed to the deal, Commander,” he reminded her, “So you have to listen to me.” Revali glared at him for a second before looking away, refusing to acknowledge his presence. Patch took that as acquiescence. 


End file.
